“All the way back from elementary school I’ve always been making stuff. So by the time I graduated college I had a huge collection of beads and different jewelry pieces, and it was just piling up. My husband was like this is so much and you have to sell it or something. And I was like sell it? That was not in mind at all.”

That “stuff” eventually turned into a business.

Like most new businesses Ellis started small, selling at local pop up shops and festivals, but that was just the beginning.

“Around 2015 my husband joined me full time, and we were able to start hiring people and have all hands on deck and really start to grow.”

Today Mimosa is thriving.

Ellis said she loves creating pieces that tell a unique story.

“Culture is a big part of what inspires me, landscape inspires me, and a lot of those things especially locally are significant to all of us, whether it be the crawfish or pecan. It means different things to all of us, and when we hear what it means to them it ties us all together. But I think it is very unique to each individual person.”

Ellis and her team use a an ancient technique called lost-wax casting that dates back to the Egyptians.

“Basically we carve it out of wax. We take a mold of it, sort of like a plaster like mold, we take melted metal, pour it in, and you’re left with the metal version of that mold you had.”

Each piece is handcrafted by Ellis and her team.

“It’s the coolest thing to think that you know we’re hand making something and it’s going to go out and live on your body every day.”

Her team is made up of all women with the exception of her husband

“He said when he started working with us that he didn’t want to go back to working with men again because we show up , we do our job, there is no drama, and the women they are just dedicated. It’s amazing.”

It’s that dedication that Ellis said is what keeps Mimosa thriving.

“It’s not easy, it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Just keep getting up and doing the thing even when you feel like I’m not good enough or I’m not going to be smart enough for this. Don’t feel like there’s not something that can help you get to the next level.”